Keir Starmer Applauds Trump's Gaza Truce Agreement – But Stops Short of Nobel Prize Backing

The Prime Minister has stated that the truce deal in Gaza "could not have happened without President Trump's leadership," but avoided supporting the American leader for a Nobel peace prize.

Ceasefire Deal Welcomed as a "Relief to the World"

The prime minister commented that the initial stage of the deal would be a "relief to the world" and noted that the UK had played its own role behind the scenes with the US and mediators.

Speaking on the last day of his trade visit to the Indian subcontinent, the British leader stressed that the agreement "needs to be put into action in full, without postponement, and paired with the prompt removal of all restrictions on critical humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Nobel Prize Question Addressed

However, when asked if the Nobel committee should now grant Donald Trump the coveted prize, the Prime Minister suggested that more time was required to know if a longer lasting peace could be achieved.

"What matters now is to press on and implement this ... my attention now is transitioning this from the phase it's at now ... and ensure the success of this, because that is important to me above all," he stated at a press conference in Mumbai.

Trade and Investment Revealed During Trip to India

The Prime Minister has celebrated a number of deals sealed during his visit to the country – his maiden visit there – joined by over a hundred executives and arts figures. The trip marks the implementation of the two nations' free trade agreement.

• The UK government has unveiled a range of financial commitments, from fintech to university campuses, as well as the production of three Bollywood films in the UK.
• On Thursday, Starmer signed a defence deal worth £350 million for UK missiles, manufactured in the UK region, to be used by the Indian army.

"Our history together is profound, the human connections between our people are exceptionally strong," he remarked as he left Mumbai. "Building on our landmark agreement, we are reinventing this alliance for our era."

Digital ID System Studied

Starmer has spent time in India studying the national digital identification program, including consulting key figures who designed the comprehensive platform used by more than 1 billion people for social services, transactions, and verification.

He suggested that the UK was interested in broadening the application of digital ID beyond making it mandatory to verify eligibility to work. He proposed that the UK would eventually look at linking it to financial and transaction networks – on a voluntary basis – as well as for administrative tasks such as mortgage and educational enrollments.

"It has been adopted on a voluntary basis [in India] in huge numbers, not least because it ensures that you can retrieve your own funds, make payments so much more conveniently than is available with others," he explained.

"The speed with which it allows citizens here to utilize facilities, especially banking options, is something that was acknowledged in our talks recently, and in fact a Fintech conversation that we had today. So we're examining those examples of how digital identification helps people with processes that sometimes take excessive time and are overly complex and makes them easier for them."

Popular Backing for Reforms

Starmer admitted that the administration had to build public support for the initiatives to the UK citizens, which have declined sharply in public approval since he announced them.

"I think now we need to go out and make that case the significant advantages ... And I think that the greater number of individuals see the benefits that accompany this ... as has happened in different nations, people say: 'That will make my life easier,' and therefore I want to proceed with it," he stated.

Human Rights and Global Affairs Addressed

The Prime Minister confirmed he had brought up a number of difficult topics with the Indian leader regarding human rights and ties with Russia, though he seemed to have made minimal progress. He confirmed that he and Prime Minister Modi discussed how India was continuing to purchase Russian oil, which is subject to widespread western sanctions.

"For both Prime Minister Modi and me the focus on ending this conflict and the various steps will be implemented to that purpose," he said. "This included a wide range of dialogue, but we did set out the actions that we are undertaking in regarding energy."

Starmer also said he had raised the case of the UK-based activist Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, who has been detained in an Indian jail for almost a decade without undergoing a full trial. It is frequently mentioned as one of the most egregious cases of unfair treatment among Britons currently detained abroad.

But, he did not indicate much advancement had been made. "Yes, we brought up the consular cases," he stated. "We consistently address them when we have the chance to do so. I should say that the foreign secretary is meeting the families in coming weeks, as well as discussing it now."

Upcoming Initiatives

Starmer is largely anticipated to take a comparable trade-focused visit to the People's Republic of China in the coming year as part of a effort to improve diplomatic ties between the United Kingdom and China.

That relationship is under the spotlight because of the collapse of a espionage investigation, said to have happened because the UK has been unwilling to provide new proof that the country is deemed a security risk.

The Prime Minister said the UK was eager to explore additional commercial partnerships but emphasized that a trade deal with the nation was not currently planned. "It is not a priority, for a bilateral pact as such, but our stance is to cooperate where we can, confront where we must, and that's been the consistent policy of the government in relation to China."